Over A Month Gone By

Unbelievable that over a month has gone by since I last posted anything. So much has happened - so much that I need to catch up on. Most of all, I need to catch up on dad's (Grandpa Don's) progress after his heart surgery. I wish I would have kept up because I won't remember details and some of them are pretty important. These pictures are just a couple of the ones we took while we were waiting for grandpa to get out of surgery. Thank goodness for laptops to keep our minds occupied. When I last wrote, it was Makayla's 8th birthday and I was so sad that I wasn't in Richfield to celebrate with her. I think I only missed one of her birthdays when they lived in Las Vegas, so for them to be in Richfield and me out of town, was pretty ironic. I just felt like I couldn't leave because dad was still in such critical condition. Each day got a little bit better, but the progress was extremely slow. We all felt like he was taking baby steps forward and was very fragile. Steven, Karen & I were all having a hard time making a decision on when to go home - it was like we knew it could be a long time recuperating for dad, but we couldn't seem to drag ourselves away. We had a lot of great visits together and some fun times as well in the 10 days we were together, but it was so hard for us knowing that dad was struggling so much each day. Karen went back to Elko on May 2, and both Steven & I headed home on May 3. I cried most of the way home, but was still very happy to get home to see my family. I can't remember exactly what day dad got out of ICU, but I think it was about a week after his surgery. About the time he was put in a room, he pulled his feeding tube out of his nose and the doctors felt it would be better to put it directly into his stomach. This required another surgery, and even though it was considered minor, it set him back a few days. Dad & Mom both celebrated - if you can call it that - their 78th & 76th birthdays in the hospital. Not a very good place to celebrate. Not only that, but Mother's Day, as well was spent in the hospital. I called either mom or Kelly every day to get updates on dad's progress, but it wasn't the same as being there. I have had a constant ache in my heart since April 28 and I don't think it will go away until dad is back home again. I had a couple of weeks that I really needed to be home, then on May 16th I headed back to St George. Dad seemed to be doing better, but he was still very weak, had a hard time talking, and still was not eating or drinking, he still had a catheter, and oxygen. He was very happy to see me and very much aware of everything that was happening to him. I was only able to stay a couple of days, then headed back home again. I was not only worried about dad, but about mom's state of mind as well. Kelly & Gayle have been awesome to check up on both of them often and I don't know what we would have done without them. So many other family members have helped too - Aunt KC, Uncle Eddie, Uncle Garth, Aunt Bev, & more. Mom also has good neighbors and ward members that have been checking up on her. How grateful I am for that. Dad was released from the hospital on May 23 but only to a rehab center, where they planned on at least another 3 weeks of recuperation. But, on Saturday, May 24 - 5 weeks to the day that dad had been admitted to the hospital - he crashed! He couldn't breathe and was getting sicker and sicker by the minute. He asked the nurse to call Aunt Katherine and Uncle Eddie because he didn't want mom to be alone. I think he knew how bad he was. Thanks to Uncle Eddie insisting the nurse call the doctor, dad was quickly re-admitted to the hospital and within hours was back in ICU in critical condition. Kelly called us and he was devastated. We were all scared to death that dad would not be strong enough to get through this major setback. I spent Sunday, May 25, taking care of some things so that I could leave again and I headed back down on Memorial Day. Karen had flown down on Sunday. It broke my heart to see dad back in ICU with the ventilator in. They had him pretty heavily sedated for 3 days so he wouldn't fight all the tubes and monitors attached to him again. We all felt like dad's feet had been knocked out from under him and we were starting at square one. I was very worried about mom as she seemed both emotionally and physically exhausted. On Wednesday, May 28, they drained 1 liter of liquid from around dad's right lung. They told us he would be heavily sedated the rest of the day, but when we went back after lunch, he was wide awake, smiled at us, and told us how much he loved us - he had the ventilator OUT. We were all so shocked and so happy. The next morning they drained another liter and more out of his left lung. He was literally drowning from the inside with all of that fluid around his lungs. He immediately starting breathing so much better and his stats were stable once again. That man amazes me - his strength and courage is like no other. He is struggling with some discouragement and depression and we are trying disparately to keep his spirits up. He lights up when he sees any of his family members and I know that is what keeps him going. I stayed in St George until Friday night, May 30, then felt like I needed to come home again. Dad was moved from ICU into a room yesterday. I think the move was hard on him and he was very tired, but hopefully taking more baby steps forward. I just called mom to see how his second day in a room was. She said he was up a couple of times sitting in a chair, and that they were also able to take him outside for some sunshine therapy. I think that will help, but she said it had tired him out and he slept a lot in between. I know dad's trials may not be as bad as what others may be going through, but it is so hard all the same. I am so grateful for my trust and faith in my Heavenly Father. I know he has a plan for dad - sometimes I just wish I knew what that plan was.